An Overview of Professionalism and Ethical Conduct within the South African Local Government Environment

Abstract

The dearth of professionalism and ethical conduct are underlying challenges within South African municipalities. The Supreme law of the country, the South African Constitution in Chapter Section 195 (1), outlines one of the basic values and principles governing public administration: "a high standard of professional ethics which must be promoted and maintained”. Ethical conduct is a phenomenon that clearly distinguishes between good and unacceptable behaviour and put into practice what is right, that is, a set of good morals and value system which are generally recognized. Ethics means what is good and bad, what is acceptable or unacceptable, and is interrelated with people’s set of values. Public value entails three essential aspects: services, honesty, and social outcome. Professionalism is the fundamental necessity to achieve these essential aspects of public value. It is a prerequisite for a professional public manager by virtue of his or her to be able to create public value. The significant quality of a professional public manager entails trust, competency, accountability, self-regulation, self-awareness, self-confidence, and differentiated expertise in his/her field and duties. The prerequisites for professionalism within municipalities consist of an increased emphasis on enhanced customer-centric; modern technologies; value for money in service delivery, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting. Public sector entities will embrace professionalism regarding how they execute their daily tasks. Municipal service provision is often negatively impacted by alleged unethical conduct, corrupt activities, and embezzlement. These characteristics are used as yardsticks to determine whether municipal administration is a profession or not. The study’s main objective is to analyze the role of professionalism and ethical conduct in enhancing service delivery and curtailing corruption. The study seeks to establish the professional role of municipal managers and councillors in promoting professionalism and ethical conduct. Considering this, the study employed conceptual methodology.